More Tires to Kick This Year

Sure, you can demo the latest security, data mining, or business intelligence software at the Oracle OpenWorld DEMOgrounds at Moscone West. But, will that experience compare to touching the hardware--or kicking the tires, so to speak--of a server or storage unit?

And this year, there is plenty of new hardware to experience. For example, take a look at the Oracle SPARC server with a 16-core, 128-thread CPU and dual carburetors...OK, no carburetors. There's an Oracle Sun storage solution with the highest DRAM cache footprint, up to 1 TB of DRAM, and a new Oracle Sun Netra solution with DC power for the telecom industry.

And let's not forget the library systems, including a working model. Ah, there's nothing like watching a robot or two dart in and out of storage holders. After all, mechanical devices have captured the attention and imagination of people for centuries.

Of course, if you want to kick real tires, head over to the Salesforce booth. They have two Lexus RX 450h cars to experience.